QuantitativeT2: interactive quantitative T2 MRI witnessed in mouse glioblastoma

Abstract

Abstract. The aim of this study was to establish an advanced analytical platform for complex in vivo pathologies. We have developed a software program, QuantitativeT2, for voxel-based real-time quantitative T2 magnetic resonance imaging. We analyzed murine brain tumors to confirm feasibility of our method for neurological conditions. Anesthetized mice (with invasive gliomas, and controls) were imaged on a 9.4 Tesla scanner using a Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill sequence. The multiecho T2 decays from axial brain slices were analyzed using QuantitativeT2. T2 distribution histograms demonstrated substantial characteristic differences between normal and pathological brain tissues. Voxel-based quantitative maps of tissue water fraction (WF) and geometric mean T2 (gmT2) revealed the heterogeneous alterations to water compartmentalization caused by pathology. The numeric distribution of WF and gmT2 indicated the extent of tumor infiltration. Relative evaluations between in vivo scans and ex vivo histology indicated that the T2s between 30 and 150 ms were related to cellular density and the integrity of the extracellular matrix. Overall, QuantitativeT2 has demonstrated significant advancements in qT2 analysis with real-time operation. It is interactive with an intuitive workflow; can analyze data from many MR manufacturers; and is released as open-source code to encourage examination, improvement, and expansion of this method. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

Quantitative T2 MRI is predictive of neurodegeneration following organophosphate exposure in a rat model

“…Fluoro-Jade C positive cells were manually quantified in regions corresponding to the T2-weighted MR images. www.nature.com/scientificreports/ Discussion T 2 has been widely used in MRI to detect major changes in water content and tissue pathophysiology in preclinical models such as cancer 36,37 and stroke 38,39 . Much of the previous T 2 related literature quantifies T 2 using less than seven echo times to describe a relaxation curve following soman exposure 5,6,12 .…”

“…T 2 has been widely used in MRI to detect major changes in water content and tissue pathophysiology in preclinical models such as cancer 36 , 37 and stroke 38 , 39 . Much of the previous T 2 related literature quantifies T 2 using less than seven echo times to describe a relaxation curve following soman exposure 5 , 6 , 12 .…”

Magnetic Resonance Relaxometry for Tumor Cell Density Imaging for Glioma: An Exploratory Study via 11C-Methionine PET and Its Validation via Stereotactic Tissue Sampling

“…The possibility of using MR relaxometry for glioma cell density prediction was first pursued in an animal study [24], followed by a study in patients by Ellingson et al [2,25]. T2-hyperintense regions were classified as either non-enhancing tumor (NET) or edema by radiological reading, and cut-offs of 125-250 ms for NET and 250-500 ms for edema as measured by T2-relaxation time were determined.…”

Correcting for imaging gradients–related bias of T2 relaxation times at high‐resolution MRI

“…Quantitative assessment of this parameter (qT 2 ) has been shown to be useful, such as for promoting early detection, 1,2 differentiating disease states, 3 saving invasive procedures, 4 and generally providing more accurate depiction of tissues' state and viability 5,6 . A few specific applications include the use of qT 2 for cancer research, 3,7,8 musculoskeletal imaging, 4,5,9,10 diagnosis of ischemic stroke, 2,11 assessment of cognitive impairment in neurodegenerative diseases, 12,13 diabetes, 14 cardiac pathology, 4 as well as its higher sensitivity for detecting pathology in tissues that appear healthy in conventional radiologic reading 6,15–17 …”